Chapter 92

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on April 8, 2025

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Here’s the English translation of the provided text, adhering to the given glossary:

—

Episode 92

The Great Cleanup

092 ? The Great Cleanup #2

What I did was extremely simple.

Swinging the club in my hand with all my might.

No thought or technique required—just a straightforward motion anyone with strength could do.

Whoosh, thwack!

Squeak!

That alone was enough to smash the skull of this giant rat. The sensation of its bones shattering through the long club was vividly transmitted to my hands.

“Holy sh*t!”

Even I was startled by the sheer force of the blow. The sight of the giant rat trembling uncontrollably was almost pitiful.

“The giant rat went down in one hit!”

Luna, too, raised her voice in surprise at what had just happened. But I couldn’t relax just yet, so I immediately struck the rat’s lifeless body a few more times with the club.

Thwack, thud, thud!

“Why—why are you hitting it more when it’s already dead?”

“It might come back to life.”

One thing I learned from fighting the Cultist warrior Schizo was the importance of making sure the enemy was truly dead.

This rat b*stard might revive for some absurd reason, so I had to make sure its body was thoroughly destroyed.

Thanks to my efforts, the rat had truly become a cold, lifeless object with no intention of moving again.

“Good, it’s completely dead now.”

“Samaritans really are brutal. Good thing you’re on our side. Hassan, you’re covered in bl**d.”

Drip, drip.

As Luna said, my body was drenched in bl**d. Splatters of bl**d dripped from my robe and the club.

Well, it’s not a bladed weapon but a crude club, so I don’t need to wipe off the bl**d or grime, right? The fact that it requires little maintenance is a huge plus.

Slurp.

Then, my club absorbed the bl**d clinging to it like a sponge soaking up water. sh*t, I was so startled I almost threw it away on instinct.

“Whoa, sh*t! Luna, did you see that?! This thing just sucked up the bl**d!”

“It’s a living weapon. It absorbs Karma along with bl**d. I’ve never actually seen it happen before, though.”

“d*mn, that’s wild.”

Thump, thump.

The club pulsed faintly, like a weak heartbeat. It really felt like a living weapon in that moment.

I was still marveling at the club in my hand when—

“But what is this…?”

Luna approached the completely dead giant rat’s corpse.

“Hassan, can you lend me a dagger? There’s something bothering me.”

“I can, but be careful. It’s really sharp since it’s for harvesting.”

Slice.

Luna took the dagger from me and cleanly cut off the flower growing from the rat’s head.

Sniff, sniff.

She smelled the flower, plucked a leaf, chewed it for a bit, then spat it out.

I walked over and asked, “Do you know what that is?”

“I don’t know if it’s just me, but this kinda looks like Ideope hashish. Why is it here…?”

“What’s that?”

“A forbidden herb used to make Silver Sleep… It’s used to strip criminals of their will when punishing them. Exporting it off the island is banned, so why…?”

I didn’t know what “Silver Sleep” was, but Luna seemed to know a lot about this plant. And from the sound of it, it wasn’t something good.

“From what I can tell, this rat was addicted to the hashish. That’s why it grew so huge.”

“Wait, that flower has that kind of effect?”

sh*t, parents with small kids would go crazy if they heard about this. If used right, couldn’t this make someone filthy rich?

But as if reading my thoughts, Luna clicked her tongue and explained.

“But it also steals reason and willpower. It’s also called the Berserker Flower. If you grind it into powder, soak it in water, and mix the right amount into a potion, it becomes a strength potion. But getting the dosage right is really hard. Even I can’t do it.”

“So the side effects are severe?”

“Yeah.”

Since Luna was an expert in potion-making, I trusted her judgment. Come to think of it, didn’t Somnia, the Cultist’s surgeon, say Luna’s potions were amazing?

That guy also mentioned something about Ideope.

An Ideope surgeon. Ideope hashish.

Could there be a connection between this rat and the plants growing in the underground waterways? I decided to ask.

“Luna, do you know the name Somnia?”

“Somnia? No, never heard of it. Who’s that?”

“Remember when I got dragged to the Cultists’ hideout? There was an Ideope surgeon there. I think her name was Somnia. She wore a weird mask too.”

“Really?”

I tried my best to explain what I’d seen and heard to Luna. But since I wasn’t good at storytelling, it felt like I was just going in circles.

d*mn, how do I explain this?

“Her clothes were flowy like yours, but pitch-black. Yeah.”

“Hmm, not sure. In Ideope, once you come of age, everyone leaves their hometown, so I don’t know many faces. Each tribe lives far apart, so there are differences too. But there might still be a connection.”

“She called herself a surgeon.”

“Really? If she’s calling herself a surgeon, she must be a highly skilled Voodoo Priest…”

“More skilled than you?”

“…Y-yeah. I’m not even comparable…”

Luna looked genuinely disheartened, as if her title as the Daughter of God meant nothing. If she was this intimidated, that Somnia must’ve been something else.

Squeak, squeak!

Just then, the ribbon-wearing rat from earlier reappeared in front of us. It squeaked at us a few times before quickly darting away again.

“Let’s keep moving.”

“Yeah.”

—

Screech!

Following the ribbon rat, we were ambushed by a few more giant, bloated rats. Each time, I smashed their skulls with my club in a fair and balanced manner.

Whack! Whack! Crack!

Squeal!

At first, swinging the blunt weapon felt awkward, but the satisfying impact and sheer power made me grow fond of it.

Slurp.

Still, the way it absorbed bl**d was unsettling, sending chills down my spine.

It felt like some kind of cursed demonic sword. No wonder it had a terrifying name like “Terror Crusher.”

Squeak, squeak!

After walking for a while, the ribbon rat led us to a small clearing where plants had been uprooted haphazardly.

A dirty tent stood in the middle.

“Uh, anyone there?”

When I called out, there was a rustling sound, and a person in a rat-colored robe stepped out. Seeing the flute in their hand, I finally remembered.

“Welcome.”

“You’re Mr. Ohayogeyasu, right?”

“…Hamelin.”

“Oh, right. Mr. Hamelin.”

d*mn, for some reason, I only remembered the name “Ohayogeyasu.” He had said Hamelin. Hamelin. I’d remember it now.

“You said you had business with me, so I came. I already got the advance payment.”

“…Request.”

Hamelin responded in short, clipped words.

I remembered him being terse, but it felt even worse now.

His robe hid his complexion, but his shallow breathing made him seem utterly exhausted.

Hamelin spoke again.

“Plants. Grew too much. Rats suffering. Remove. The curse marks.”

His speech was so broken it was hard to understand. Was he glitching?

I was about to ask what he meant when Luna, who had been quietly petting the rats, spoke up instead.

“You’re saying there are cursed marks making the plants grow, and you want us to remove them?”

“Yes. Finish this. Acknowledge your task. I’m tired now. Guide them. Ronny.”

Hamelin placed the ribbon-wearing rat from his shoulder onto the ground.

The rat squeaked eagerly before disappearing into the darkness ahead.

“You’re strong enough. But. Be careful.”

With those final words, Hamelin retreated into his tent without another word. He looked so drained, like a withered plant in the desert.

Well, expecting someone living in this lightless, stinking underground sewer with rats to be bright and energetic was absurd.

Everyone has their own lifestyle. It wasn’t my place to judge.

Still, I was disappointed I didn’t get to ask everything I wanted.

d*mn, this feels fishy.

So I asked Luna,

“What did he mean by ‘acknowledge your task’?”

“Not sure, but probably a good reward? We already got onyx as an advance. The rest must be huge!”

Luna’s reasoning made sense. Lately, I’d noticed she was pretty sharp.

“Heh, onyx. So good.”

Luna grinned while peeking into her pouch. Well, she was a girl, so of course she’d like jewels.

I said,

“Maybe we shouldn’t sell one of them?”

“Really?”

“Yeah, 30% is your share anyway. Out of five, that’s about one and a half for you.”

“Then I’m all for it! I’ll make a new talisman with this! A talisman embedded with gems—sh*t! Just thinking about it excites me. Let’s hurry!”

Luna strode ahead with newfound enthusiasm.

But that enthusiasm didn’t last long.

“Eeek…!”

Luna let out a terrified shriek, trembling like a frog facing a snake.

Honestly, I was just as scared.

“Luna, what is this? It doesn’t look normal at all.”

“Th-that’s curse magic. A really high-level one…”

Reflected in Luna’s emerald eyes were grotesque wooden totems.

Logs the size of human torsos, with rats, snakes, and birds nailed to them, covered in dried black bl**d.

The animals’ expressions were unreadable, but their agonized deaths were unmistakable.

Squirming maggots and rotting flesh.

“Ugh, this is fucking horrifying.”

It reminded me of Voodoo totems.

But unlike the cute, charming totems Luna made, these radiated pure malice—curses and dark sorcery incarnate.

“Th-they were nailed alive… This is brutal. Look, the claw and beak marks—they struggled slowly to their deaths.”

“What’s the point of this?”

“Terror idols. They induce fear, sapping the morale of those who see them.”

No kidding. Seeing this would crush anyone’s spirit.

“I heard things this horrific were only used 50 years ago in the Giant War… We should destroy them.”

Luna pulled out her Silence Totem from her back and smashed the terror idols with all her might.

Crash.

Bones, wood, and animal remains scattered. But it wasn’t over.

Rustle, rustle.

Luna took out an empty pouch and carefully placed the rat carcasses inside. I couldn’t help but frown.

“Why are you keeping those?”

“Cursed objects must be properly disposed of. Especially something this hateful. I’ll burn them outside later.”

“I see.”

“Hassan, help me break them!”

Together, we swung our weapons and destroyed the terror idols filling the underground.

Crash, rumble.

By the time Luna’s pouch was full of animal remains, our destruction was mostly complete.

“Hassan, this might really be connected to that Cultist surgeon you mentioned. The hashish was one thing, but this kind of curse magic is only used by Ideope people.”

So the Cultists’ offensive wasn’t over yet? We hadn’t heard about the rest being captured.

They might still be scheming something sinister in Sodomora.

“Where did that ribbon rat go?”

We’d lost track of it while dealing with the totems.

It had run off earlier too. Guess its tiny brain couldn’t handle guiding us.

Squeak, squeak!

Then, a familiar sound came from deeper in the dark sewer.

Rat squeaks all sound the same, but I imagined it was responding to my words.

Just as I thought, the red-ribboned rat emerged from the shadows—

Squeak…

—held in someone else’s grip.

Squelch, squelch.

Bare feet slapped against the wet ground, and soon, a massive mask emerged from the darkness.

A grotesque mask with jagged fangs, like a totem pole or an oni.

And I recognized it.

If my memory was right, this was the Cultist surgeon, Somnia. sh*t, she was here?!

I should’ve run or attacked, but my body refused to move, as if glued to the floor. No, seriously, I couldn’t budge! What the hell?!

“I came because someone had the audacity to destroy my hard work.”

Squish—CRACK.

The ribbon rat in Somnia’s grip burst apart under her crushing strength, letting out a dying shriek. She held its bl**d and guts in her hands, muttering a spell under the mask.

“…!”

Luna, utterly horrified, yanked my arm.

“H-Hassan…! W-we have to run! Now!”

Finally, my body regained movement.

“Too late. Rise, Silver Sleep.”

From the scattered remains and dried bl**d, something began to writhe and rise.

Squelch.

“What the f*ck is that?!”

The disgusting sounds it made were so unsettling I nearly lost my soul. sh*t, this is grotesque and nauseating!

“Rise, dead ones.”

“…D-don’t rise!”

Luna swung her Silence Totem at the fleshy abomination. It burst apart with a splat.